SAPPHIRE
I shove him,hard, wind whipping around us.
But he barely moves, instead managing to catch my wrist before I can put more distance between us. The way he holds me—gentle, controlled, with just enough pressure to keep me close—makes me ache with the need for him to say those three words to me.
“You’re shaking,” he says instead, his lips only inches from mine now. “Are you sure you don’t want this? Or is this just some fun, new foreplay? Because if it is, I’m into it.”
He waits for my reply, and I canfeelhow much he still wants me. The way his body reacts to mine, the way his breathing slows, the desire in his gaze.
But there’s nothing underneath it. No emotion. No love.
So, I wrench my wrist free, my breaths coming too fast. “No. I don’t want this,” I say fiercely. “I wantyou.The real you.”
His smirk falters—just for a second—but it’s enough to make my heart jump.
Then, it’s back, colder than before.
“The real me?” he repeats, his tone light, but his words cutting. “Thisisthe real me. I want you, Sapphire. And givenhow familiar we already are with each other, I know you want me, too.”
“You want me,” I repeat, the words sounding hollow. “But you don’tloveme.”
“No,” he says simply, and he doesn’t need to think about it, which makes it even worse. “But this is better. It’s simple. No complications. Just you, me, and…” He trails off, his eyes sweeping down my body in the way that makes my cheeks flush every time. “Opportunity.”
I stare him down, anger rushing through me, willing him to take it back.
Wind whips around us. Water droplets from the melted ice shards rise, suspended like tears in the air. My magic is a storm raging inside me, and I want him to know what that sort of turmoil feels like, too.
I want him tofeel.
He just glances around and chuckles, as if I’m performing a magic trick. “Showing off now, are we?” he asks in amusement. “Trying to make me love you by reminding me how powerful you are?”
Remind him.
Yes.
That’s what he told me to do.
So, that’s what I’mgoingto do.
“The frozen lake. During the trial,” I say quickly, the words tearing from my chest as I claw for every detail he told me. “That was the moment you fell in love with me. You saw me disappear under the ice and realized you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if I didn’t come back up. Then you used the whisper stone to teach me how to breathe underwater and help me get the key. And when I came back up and you saw me again—and you knew I was safe—that was when it all changed.”
He stills and sizes me up, taking in every inch of me, as if he’s considering each word I said.
I hold my breath, searching for a flicker of recognition in his eyes.
“If I recall the conversation correctly, I said that moment at the lake was when Istartedfalling in love with you,” he finally says, and I lean forward, waiting for him to remember. Really, trulyremember.“You see, I know I said all those things to you. The dryad didn’t take my memories. But it was just a game, Sapphire. All those words, all those nights together, all of it culminating with seeing you break right now… it’s been a game since the beginning. And guess what? I won.”
“No.” I step back, shaking my head. “You don’t mean that.”
“I absolutely do.”
He doesn’t budge. Doesn’t care.
“Maybe you believe it right now,” I say, scrambling for an explanation. “But you told me you loved me. And we both know you can’t lie. Which means what you said was true.”
“I’ve been dancing around truths for my entire life, Sapphire. Long enough to know that while I can’t lie, I can omit. Which is what I did every time I said I loved you,” he says, and ice-cold dread rushes through my veins at the cruelty that passes over his once familiar eyes. “After all, I never specified which part of you I loved. I can love the power I have over you. I can love the challenge, the game, and the fire in your eyes when you think you can change me. I can love the way you bend for me, even when you fight. I can love the way you crave me—the way you throw yourself at me and shatter into pieces when I touch you. But lovingyou?That was your mistake—not mine.”
The water droplets floating around us splash to the ground.
